


Not Mark

by msraven



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Canon-Typical Violence, Feelings Realization, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Mostly Fluff, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Not Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Rom Com References, Some angst, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 09:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14974373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msraven/pseuds/msraven
Summary: Bucky isn't dating Steve even if everyone thinks they are. It's not a problem until Bucky finds out that Clint has fallen for a moron who doesn't like him back. Now Bucky needs to make Clint fall for him without letting Steve down.His life isn't a Rom Com... but it could be.





	Not Mark

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [WinterHawk Kisses](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209470) by [Nny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nny/pseuds/Nny). 



> Based on [Chapter 123](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209470/chapters/24748506) of WinterHawk Kisses. For more WinterHawk greatness, check out [WinterHawk Kisses](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/winterhawkkisses) on tumblr.
> 
> There are also several references to the movie, Love Actually. There's a decent synopsis [here on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl#synopsis) if you haven't seen it or need a refresher.
> 
> Special thanks, as always, to my beta and biggest cheerleader, kultiras.

It took an embarrassingly long time for Bucky to figure out that everyone in the Tower thought he was dating Steve. Even more embarrassing was that it took Stark, of all people, to point it out.

Bucky was sitting at the large kitchen island with everyone else, eating breakfast as Steve stood behind him and talked to Sam. Bucky felt Steve drop his head onto his shoulder and automatically reached up to pat his hair, their usual goodbye before Steve left whatever he had to do for the day. 

"It's really nice to see you guys so happy," Stark said and there was something in his voice that made Bucky look up at him.

Stark's eyes were a little glazed over, not focused on any particular person in the room. Then he made an odd, almost inquisitive noise, and walked out.

Bucky looked over to Clint seated next to him, but Clint was sharing one of his usual silent conversations with Natasha. After a beat, Clint pushed away from the counter and stood.

"Fine, it's my turn. I'll go make sure he's calling her and not headed down to the lab," Clint said as he too left the room.

"What just happened?" Bucky asked Sam and Natasha, who were the only two left. He was a little annoyed because wrangling Stark could take hours and he was hoping to spend time with Clint down at the range.

"Seeing you and Steve together makes Tony miss Pepper," Sam explained. "Tony didn't pour any scotch in his coffee, so Clint shouldn't be too long."

"Unless Pepper can't answer his call," Natasha countered.

"Then Clint will distract Tony with a single-old-men bonding day," Sam amended. "Sorry Bucky."

Bucky could only frown after the two of them as they left him alone in the kitchen, the words "together" and "single-old-men" spinning around in his head. He was still frowning when Steve came back to their suite later that day.

"Did you know that everyone in the Tower thinks we're dating?" Bucky asked as soon as the door closed. Steve's blush at the question was enough of an answer. "Something I should know?"

Steve's shoulders drooped as he sat across from Bucky. They'd been friends long enough that it wasn't the first time they'd had a discussion like this. Steve had always known that Bucky was attracted to both men and women. They had mutually agreed on friendship for many reasons, especially because Steve was, as far as Bucky knew, firmly heterosexual. 

"I still love Peggy," Steve said. "I'm just… I know she moved on when I hit the ice and she's gone now, but… I still love her."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Everyone kept trying to set me up with new women until we found you," Steve confessed and Bucky scrubbed his hands over his face with a sigh. "I thought they were giving me space to help with your recovery and then Sam started talking about us like he talked about him and Natasha."

"So you figured you'd just keep the charade going?"

Steve nodded. "It was nice not having to make up excuses or have everyone give me sad looks when I turned down the offers. I'm real sorry, Buck."

"I wish you woulda told me, but it's okay Stevie. It's not like I'm eager to start dating again either."

"I didn't think of that," Steve frowned. "Damn. I'm sorry. We should tell everyone the truth."

"No!" Bucky countered quickly. He definitely didn't want to be the focus of that much attention. The others would see it as a problem that needed fixing and likely go overboard trying to help. "Maybe soon, but it's fine right now."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." Bucky's recovery was going well, but he wasn't ready to brave the general public, especially on a blind date. He found the well meaning Avengers difficult to say no to, so Steve's little charade worked for them both.

~^~

Clint—the only person whose company Bucky actively sought out aside from Steve—wasn't at the range during his usual training time, so Bucky assumed he was stuck with Stark for the rest of the day. He finished up his own training faster than usual without Clint as a fun distraction and then was too restless to sit alone in the suite.

Bucky wandered down to the lounge and was surprised to find Clint watching one of the romantic dramas he seemed to be addicted to. He tried not to give Clint crap about his taste in television shows, but couldn't stop himself from snorting when the guy on the screen said, "I shouldn’t be in love with you."

He waited until the next commercial break to say, "The fuck does that mean, ‘shouldn’t?'" 

“…is this a generational thing?” Clint asked.

Bucky shook his head and motioned toward the television. "You love someone or you don’t love them, and when you do you just - deal with it. Right? Put up or shut up." 

"You’re a romantic in your goddamn soul, Barnes. You don’t think she deserves to know the truth?"

"Maybe she deserves to hear it, but he doesn’t deserve to tell her," Bucky responded, suddenly irate for reasons he doesn't fully understand. "What kind of asshole introduces doubt like that into someone else’s relationship? It’s as bad as that fuckin’ guy." 

"That guy?"

It was another one of those movies that Clint loved that Bucky couldn't, for the life of him, remember the title of. Some British Christmas movie about supposedly normal people falling in love. Bucky had sat through it mostly because it meant spending time with Clint. "With the signs, that guy." 

"So he should just keep his mouth shut?"

"He should find someone else, none of this ‘shouldn’t love you bullshit’. Give up on her."

"Yeah," Clint said. "Not that easy." 

The note in Clint's voice immediately had Bucky turning his head to face him. That was a voice filled with experience and Bucky couldn't help but grin. 

"Why, you sweet on someone, Barton?" he asked. Clint was still the only one comfortable enough to tease Bucky and did so relentlessly when given a tidbit of information. This seemed like an opportunity for Bucky to return the favor.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't be," Clint eventually answered. His grin was forced and brittle, almost to the point of pain.

Bucky sobered because it was clear that, whatever feelings Clint had for this other person was deep, and the last thing Bucky wanted was to cause his friend pain.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"No, it's okay," Clint interrupted Bucky's apology. "It's…" Clint took a deep breath and his smile became smaller, but more real. "You're right. I should get over him and move on."

Clint looked so sad that Bucky wanted to pull him into a hug. Unfortunately, Steve chose that moment to come barging into the room.

"Buck! There you are. I thought we were goin' out to Brooklyn for dinner?"

"I forgot," Bucky admitted and settled for giving Clint's knee what he hoped was a supportive pat before he stood. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, have a good dinner."

Clint gave Bucky another forced grin and Bucky was tempted to stay, except he knew how excited Steve was about going out to an old haunt that had managed to stay in business this whole time. Bucky walked away with a heavy heart and Clint stayed on his mind the whole night. 

Bucky had a difficult time imagining someone who would spurn Clint's affection. The guy was either already in a committed relationship or a total moron because Clint was amazing. He was sweet and funny and considerate. He could snap Bucky out of a funk with his silliness, but he also understood when Bucky needed time to brood and distracted the others—especially Steve—into leaving him alone. 

Clint was also super smart, smarter than most people gave him credit for. His knowledge of weapons and their individual capabilities rivaled Bucky's and Clint could fly anything he got his hands on. He'd been on enough solo missions over the years that Clint could fix just about any tech they used, to the point that Stark started making everything more complicated just to stump him. Clint could also sit in the back of an hour long mission brief and pretend to be barely paying attention before he asked one question that unraveled their entire strategy. Steve, Bucky knew, liked to have separate debriefs with only Clint because he was the only one willing to tell Steve the truth about how he'd performed as a leader. 

In addition to all of that, Clint was hot as hell. Steve had pinned Bucky more than once while they were sparring because Bucky let himself get distracted by how Clint tumbled gracefully through the obstacle course in a different part of the gym. Clint liked to joke that he was the least attractive Avenger, pointing at a nose and cheeks that had been broken too many times. Bucky actually thought Clint's ruggedness made him more handsome than Steve and Thor's almost-too-perfect features. Bucky had seen Clint naked once, when he'd walked into Clint's suite unannounced and not expected to find Clint standing naked in the middle of his kitchenette drinking straight from the coffee pot. If Bucky hadn't been wrapped up in his own head and feared losing a burgeoning friendship, he would have dropped to his knees right then and there. 

_Wait. What the fuck?!_

Bucky sat straight up in bed, his heart racing at the revelation, and all thoughts of sleep quickly disappeared. 

_Shit shit shit shit shit_

Bucky continued to curse at himself as he dropped his head into his hands. Of course, it was just his luck to figure out that he was falling for Clint on the same night he found out Clint was gone on someone else. 

Then he remembered that whoever the other idiot was clearly didn't feel the same way and maybe, just maybe, Bucky still had a chance. He'd gotten enough of his old memories back to know how to be suave and flirt. Clint liked spending time with Bucky and had once wolf whistled after they'd both ended up in their underwear for a decontamination shower. If Bucky played his cards right, he could show Clint that the moron wasn't worth his time by being exactly what Clint deserved—someone who treated him like the amazing person he was. 

The trick was figuring out the best way to woo Clint. Going to Natasha seemed too scary, but maybe Bucky could ask Steve for advice. 

_Oh fuck, Steve._

Bucky flopped back onto his pillow with a groan. He'd told Steve he had no interest in dating and yet here was trying to come up with ways to woo Clint. If Bucky was serious about dating Clint, then it would expose Steve's little charade. Maybe Bucky could just be a good friend and help Clint find someone else, but that thought quickly curdled in Bucky's stomach. He couldn't walk away from an opportunity to be with Clint without knowing if he'd ever had a chance. Bucky didn't want to turn himself into the sign guy. 

Asking Steve wouldn't help because he'd just fall on sword to help Bucky out. This was why Bucky usually went to Clint on advice for this kind of thing… which could be the answer in this case too. Bucky could tell Clint the truth about what he'd figured out earlier that day. It would serve the double purpose of not having to actually lie to Clint and possibly gauge any interest he may have in return for Bucky. 

Plan fixed in his mind, Bucky settled more comfortably and let sleep overtake him.

~^~

Unfortunately for Bucky, Clint had already left for a scheduled SHIELD mission by the time he made it down to breakfast the next morning. It wasn't the first mission Clint had gone on for SHIELD, but it was the first time since Bucky had come to the Tower that he hadn't been able to say goodbye.

"Did you forget?" Sam asked as Bucky frowned down at his cereal. 

"Yeah."

"He'll be fine," Sam assured him. "It's another training run. Just because you didn't give each other your over-the-top lucky handshake doesn't mean something will go wrong."

"Don't doubt the handshake. You're jealous 'cuz you don't know it," Bucky fired back and gave Sam a smirk to hide his concern. 

Clint was damn good at his job, but there was still an uneasy feeling in the pit of Bucky's stomach that he knew nothing about the mission. Part of the morning ritual he'd missed was getting a quick rundown of where and what Clint would be doing. Bucky still hadn't fully shaken his inherent distrust of SHIELD and it made him feel better to know firsthand that Clint wasn't going anywhere the Winter Soldier was familiar with. Not knowing made Bucky worry and that worry stayed with him for the next two days of radio silence. 

For once, Bucky was glad that Steve required all Avengers to check in every forty-eight hours, regardless of what you were doing. If you didn't check in on your own, JARVIS would locate you via one of the trackers all of them carried to confirm you were at your expected location. That meant Bucky could now rightfully ask Steve or JARVIS to tell him where Clint was. 

Bucky was headed to the common floor to find Steve when the alert to assemble rang out. He quickly rerouted to the command center and felt his whole body go tight with fear when he saw the new SHIELD director on the screen. 

"We have a situation with Agent Barton."

"The fuck does that mean?" Bucky asked tersely. "Where is he?"

The director's eyes flicked to Bucky for a second and then refocused on Steve. 

"We sent Agent Barton along with some junior agents to retrieve some equipment from an old SHIELD facility and—"

"Don't fucking ignore me," Bucky growled. "Where did you send him?"

"You heard him," Tony said. "Answer the question or I'll have JARVIS take control of your systems."

The director's jaw tightened, but he nodded at someone offscreen. A map came up and all the blood drained from Bucky's face. 

"Shit," Sam cursed. "You recognize it."

"That's not a SHIELD facility, it's a Hydra base," Bucky told them as he tried to recall the internal layout from memory. 

"Did Clint know you were sending him to an old Hydra base?" Steve asked when the director came back on screen. 

"The facility was supposed to be abandoned."

"You, director, are not Nick Fury," Steve said without attempting to hide his scorn and burgeoning anger. "Keep ignoring our questions and you'll regret it."

"We did not feel that was pertinent information as it was intended to be a retrieval operation only."

Natasha reared back like she'd been slapped. "I resign my commission from SHIELD, effective immediately. So does Hawkeye."

"You can't do that."

"I'm his medical and legal proxy," Natasha countered. "I have the right to make decisions on his behalf when he is temporarily incapacitated. If he is more than that, then there is no place you can hide from me."

Bucky had to give the director some credit for keeping his composure because that threat from Natasha should never be taken lightly. Or it was possible that the new director was just that dense to ignore it. 

"His vitals were active and stable as of a few hours ago."

"How long has he been in enemy hands?" Sam asked as Tony immediately stepped to the console in front of him and began typing in commands. Bucky assumed he was hacking into SHIELD to get the feed from Clint's tracker. 

"Just under twenty hours. Part of the exercise was a stealth hike into the compound. The other agents took longer to hike out without Agent Barton's guidance."

"How did they get out without him?" Natasha questioned. 

"Barton let himself get captured to cover their escape."

"Of course he did," Bucky sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and attempted to stay calm. Clint was just too good a person for most people to deserve. 

"Their communications were compromised, so we were not aware there was an issue until they returned to their base station. We lost signal to Barton's tracker two hours ago."

"Two hours?!" Bucky fumed. "We could have been there by now."

"We felt caution was necessary as the equipment we—"

The director was suddenly cut off when the screen went black. All eyes turned to Tony. 

"It's not like we wanted to actually listen to him," Tony pointed out. "I've got everything we need to go get Clint." He raised an eyebrow at Bucky. "You gonna be okay for this, Tin Man?"

Tony's concern was valid. As much as Bucky was now part of the team, he'd previously opted out of storming former Hydra compounds in fear of being accidentally triggered. 

"I'm not staying behind while they have Clint," Bucky insisted. "But you need to know it was a lab. Experiments. Torture. And they had a prototype chair."

"Tony, make sure that a full med team meets us there," Steve ordered. He looked between Bucky and Natasha for a moment and Bucky knew Steve was internally debating whether they were fit to go on the mission. They gave Steve matching glares in return because everyone knew there wasn't really a way to keep either Bucky or Natasha from going to get Clint out of Hydra's hands. 

"I'm going too," Bruce chimed in quietly. "I can stay in the quinjet unless you need me."

Steve turned to Bruce—signaling the end to the non-discussion about who was fit to go—and nodded his approval. "It would be good to have Hulk as a backup since Thor took Wanda with him to Asgard. Everyone get their gear. Wheels up in five."

"I'll see if Rhodey can get away to meet us," Tony offered as everyone dispersed.

Ice cold fear ran through Bucky's veins as he suited up and grabbed his weapons. He'd never felt fear for someone else like this before—not even when Steve had showed up in the middle of the war. It gave him clarity about how much Clint really meant to him and he sent a prayer to every deity he could remember that he'd get a chance to show Clint just how much he cared.

~^~

Within the hour, Bucky was standing on the roof of the base waiting for the signal to go in. They'd flown in on stealth mode and found that the base was emitting some sort of jamming signal that made it appear abandoned. Any signal inside the base was being bounced out so it looked like it was coming from miles away where it got lost among the chaos of nearby Las Vegas. Steve had nearly blown a gasket when he realized that SHIELD never checked their agents' positions while they were on their original mission.

They'd agreed that Steve, Bucky, and Natasha would sneak into strategic locations on the base while Tony worked to get their comms adjusted around the jamming. Sam, Tony, and Rhodey would then fly in from the quinjet to serve as backup and prevent any Hydra goons from escaping. Bruce would hopefully not be needed.

Tony was taking too long. Bucky's fear ratcheted up with each minute that passed. It was useless to try and tell himself it was just another mission when Clint's infectious grin kept flashing through his mind. Bucky forced himself to take a few deep, calming breaths—he needed to stay focused if he was going to get Clint back. 

Suddenly, his comm came to life with a crackle followed by Tony's voice. 

"Sorry that took so long. Our comms and trackers are back online, plus it looks like Clint has his new hearing aids in. I should be able to hook him into—"

"Aaaaaaaarrgghhhh!"

Bucky was kicking the door in before Clint's anguished scream finished reverberating through their comms. He didn't need Clint's tracker now. Bucky knew exactly where Clint was because only the chair could pull a scream like that out of a person. 

The Soldier was calm now, focused. His mission was clear: find Clint and kill anyone who got in his way. He vaguely registered the others talking, of Tony telling the others that he'd gone and clearly knew where he was going. Tony called out the general direction the Soldier was headed and then there was a bellowing roar that was harder to ignore.

"Hulk find friend!"

It was enough to make Bucky's next step falter—Clint and the Hulk had a strangely close friendship, so it wasn't a surprise that he'd come out to help without Bruce's control. 

"I… may have forgotten that Bruce's comm was on," Stark admitted. "Here buddy, this way."

Another Hydra goon rounded the corner in front of him, so the Soldier put the others out of his mind and continued forward. At the end of the hall was the last door between him and Clint. The Soldier had always been docile, so he knew the door wasn't armored and he blew through it without hesitation. He shot three more Hydra goons before the smoke had cleared, which left only the trembling technician standing by Clint.

"Stop, or I'll—"

The Soldier shot the tech through the forehead before he could bring the gun up to Clint's temple and then Bucky stumbled forward until he was in Clint's line of sight.

"Bucky?" Clint rasped.

"Yeah, it's me," Bucky answered as Clint's eyes cleared to focus on his face. He smiled, reached up, and gently pushed Clint's sweat-soaked hair off his forehead. "You forgot our lucky handshake."

Clint laughed and then broke off with a wince. "Ow."

"I know," Bucky sympathized and cupped the side of Clint's face with his hand. "I'm gonna get you outta here."

Bucky stepped back slightly so he could break the restraints with his left hand and take stock of Clint's injuries. They had stripped Clint down to the waist and Bucky could see bruising throughout his torso, a knife wound in his side, and what looked like a gunshot wound in his thigh. Bucky was also willing to bet that Hydra had pumped him full of drugs before putting him in the chair. 

"Stark," Bucky said into his comm, "I have Clint. He needs medical."

"The others are trying to keep Hydra busy and we're on our way to you," Tony responded. "How close are you to the exterior walls?"

"About six feet to either wall."

"Okay, cover up."

"Shit," Bucky swore when he felt the ground shake from Hulk landing outside. He'd been expecting Tony to use his repulsors over letting Hulk smash the walls down. He quickly shielded Clint with his body as the wall collapsed and pieces of the ceiling rained down on them. 

"Help's here," Bucky said wryly as he pulled away from Clint and shook masonry off his back and shoulders. 

"Bucky, I—" Clint started to say and then broke off. His eyes rolled back into his head as he began to convulse before he suddenly went limp.

"Clint!" Bucky cried. He gave Clint's shoulder a futile shake as Iron Man landed next to him. 

"Jarvis says he's alive, but his vitals are weak," Tony said. "Get him out of the chair and give him to me. We'll have to chance it so I can fly him to the med team."

Bucky gently lifted Clint out of the chair and pressed a quick kiss to his temple as he placed him in Tony's arms. 

"Friend hurt?" Hulk asked. 

Tony paused just long enough to say, "Clint's tough, big guy," before taking off. 

The Soldier looked at the chair stained with Clint's blood and then up at the Hulk, who was still staring off at where Iron Man had flown off with Hawkeye.

"Destroy it," he said and pointed to the chair when Hulk looked down at him. "Destroy it all."

Hulk smirked and let out a huge roar before proceeding to follow his instructions, but the Soldier had already turned away to look to where the others were still fighting Hydra. It was time for some payback.

~^~

The remaining Hydra forces quickly surrendered when it became clear that both the Winter Soldier or the Hulk were out for blood. Bucky, to his credit, was able to reel back his anger once Hydra stopped putting up a resistance. It took much longer to convince Hulk to stop smashing and by then, most of the base had been leveled to the ground. Whatever SHIELD had been after was likely destroyed and none of the Avengers felt terribly guilty about it.

Natasha had asked Rhodey to fly her out to the temporary med unit once the fighting had stopped. The unit had been quickly set up at a safe distance from the base, so it took a while longer for Bucky and Steve to make it over after they'd let the local military take over wrangling Hydra. When they arrived, they found Natasha and Sam talking quietly in front of the room Clint was in. 

"How is he?" Bucky asked. 

"Relatively stable," Natasha answered. "He's been in and out of consciousness. They're testing his blood for whatever Hydra pumped into him before they sedate him for transfer."

"He's awake? I want to see him," Bucky requested and was surprised when Natasha frowned and shook her head.

"No."

The worry and fear inside Bucky immediately coalesced back into the anger he'd been keeping at bay. He took a step forward and the plates on his left arm whirred as he clenched his fists. 

"Let me see Clint," he growled. 

"No," Natasha said again and Bucky heard the crackle of her widow's bites engaging. 

"Whoa!" Sam quickly placed himself between Bucky and Natasha while Steve put a restraining hand on Bucky's shoulder. "We're all worked up and worries about Clint. Let's not do anything we'll regret later. Bucky, you can see Clint later. When he's back at the Tower."

"Why the fuck can't I see him now?" Bucky asked and shrugged Steve's hand off his shoulder. He relaxed his fist, but didn't back down. "I want to see Clint and I don't fucking understand why you're keeping me away."

"He's hurt and vulnerable right now," Sam explained. 

Bucky reared back, offended. "You think I'm gonna hurt him?"

"No," Sam said quickly, but Bucky watched Natasha's eyes flick between Bucky and Steve before she answered. 

"Yes."

Bucky focused on Natasha. "Explain."

"You being there matters to Clint," she said slowly, "more than it should. He doesn't need that."

Bucky stilled at Natasha's words, at her specific choice of words. All the anger left him when he realized her meaning and his jaw dropped open in shock. "Are you saying _I'm_ the moron? That Clint…"

Natasha's mouth remained an unhappy line, but her eyes narrowed like she was trying to see something from a different perspective. "The other day at breakfast, you were confused," she mused out loud. "You're not with Steve, are you?"

"No," Bucky admitted and shut his eyes with a sigh. He didn't have the energy to feel guilty about outing Steve. He was too busy thinking about the sadness he'd seen in Clint's eyes the other night, sadness that he'd inadvertently put there by being oblivious. Bucky turned imploring eyes back to Natasha. "Natalia, _please_. I need to see Clint. My being there matters to me too."

Natasha must have been satisfied with what she saw on Bucky's face because she nodded and stepped aside, but stopped him before he could go inside. "If you hurt him…"

"If I hurt him," Bucky said earnestly as he met Natasha's eyes, "then I deserve whatever you do to me."

Natasha blinked and then gave him a small smile that made the last of Bucky's worries about giving this thing—whatever it turned out to be—with Clint a go. If he were honest with himself, he trusted Natasha's judgement over Clint's or his own.

"Go," she prodded and Bucky paused to look over where Steve was now talking quietly with Sam in the corner. "We're okay out here."

Bucky nodded and stepped inside Clint's room. His heart panged painfully in his chest when he saw how pale and still Clint was, but he could see Clint's chest rise with each breath and the heart monitor pinged reassuringly in the corner. Clint's eyes flickered open as Bucky gently took his hand.

"Bucky?" Clint croaked out with a smile. "You got me out. Knew you would."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight for a good long time after this," Bucky told him. He brushed the top of Clint's head with his other hand, careful not to get any of his hair caught in the plates. "Letting yourself get caught. Really, Clint?"

"Baby agents," Clint responded and then gripped Bucky's hand tightly while his eyes went a little wild. "Bucky. They… they tried to scramble my brain."

"It's okay. It takes a lot without the conditioning. And if they did take anything, we'll deal with it."

"I know what I said, but I don't want… don't want to forget… not you. Don't care if it hurts."

It took a second for Bucky to understand what Clint was saying, but he pushed away the guilt heavy in his heart and focused on moving forward. "Shhhh. It's okay," he soothed softly. "It doesn't matter if you forgot. I'll be here to remind you, okay? I promise."

Clint nodded in relief as his eyes started to droop and Bucky resumed stroking Clint's hair.

"It's okay to sleep, Clint. I'll be here when you wake up."

Clint tried to nod again, but he was asleep before he could finish the motion. Bucky leaned forward to brush his lips against Clint's forehead as Sam opened the door and poked his head inside.

"The docs are ready to move him," Sam said. "They say he'll be out the whole time. Everyone but us is back on the quinjet, including Bruce. Nat wants to know if you'll head back with us or stay with Clint?"

Bucky was surprised to be given the option. He had assumed Natasha would want to fly out with Clint. Her trust in Bucky was humbling. 

"Tell her thanks. I'll stay with Clint."

~^~

It took four days for the drugs to work through Clint's system and for Dr. Cho to fix the rest of the damage. From what they found in Clint's bloodwork, whoever had been at the base didn't really know what they were doing. It looked almost as if they'd given Clint whatever was on hand. She even thought there was a chance Clint now had a touch of Hydra's bastardized super soldier serum in his system, but they wouldn't know until later if it would take hold like it had with Bucky. He told himself not to get his hopes up that Hydra had somehow accidentally made Clint a little less breakable.

What had been surprisingly hilarious was that Clint started to hallucinate every time he was awake. Luckily, what he saw were flights of fancy and not nightmares from his past. By the time Clint woke, clear eyed and lucid, on the fifth day, Bucky had a storehouse of fodder to tease him with. 

"So I wasn't just dreaming?" Clint asked when he saw Bucky seated next to his bed. 

"Depends. You've been pretty delirious. There haven't been any unicorns or pink elephants in here, if that's what you're asking."

"The elephants were great dancers," Clint said with a grin and then sobered. "But that wasn't what I was talking about. You haven't left."

"No place more important I needed to be."

Clint's brow furrowed in confusion and Bucky wondered how much more of the drugs were in his system. Clint's emotions weren't typically this easy to read.

"We can talk more later," Bucky said as he moved to sit at the edge of Clint's bed, "but the important parts are that I'm not dating Steve, I never was, and I never intentionally lied to you. I'm not Juliet and you're not Mark."

The small fear that Natasha had been wrong disappeared when Bucky saw the open affection in Clint's eyes. "You watched it again."

"I did," Bucky admitted. "You were asleep a lot. I still think that part's crap, but parts of it are watchable."

For some reason, Clint's expression softened even more and he turned the hand Bucky was holding to intertwine their fingers. 

"So I'm not Mark?"

Bucky shook his head at Clint's fascination with the movie. "How about you be Clint," he suggested. "I'll be Bucky. And we'll see where we go from here?"

"Yeah," Clint agreed. "That sounds good to me."

Clint's smile was small and a little shy, but Bucky could still see the happiness shining beneath it. He leaned forward to press his lips softly against that smile and felt his own heart soar when Clint kissed back.

~^~

A few weeks later, everything had slid into a new normal. The team had agreed to let Steve decide when he was ready to start dating and Steve agreed to go to grief counseling. The counseling seemed to be helping, which was a relief to Bucky after he realized how little time Steve had been spending with the rest of the team since he'd arrived at the Tower. Now he was as likely to ask one of the others on an outing instead of, or in addition to, Bucky.

Steve reaching out to the others also had the added benefit of freeing up more time for Bucky to spend with Clint. He still spent a lot of time with them both, but Bucky felt less required to cut time with Clint short just because Steve asked. Most of Bucky's things had also migrated to Clint's suite since he spent most of his nights there. Bucky figured he had another few weeks before he could make moving in with Clint official without triggering any of Clint's fear-of-commitment tendencies.

Of course, Clint wasn't one to strictly adhere to schedules.

"Morning," Clint greeted through a yawn when Bucky came in from his morning run with Steve. 

Bucky stepped up close to where Clint was standing by the coffee maker and gave him a quick kiss. Clint wasn't wearing a shirt, but his hair was damp from the shower and he tasted like coffee, so Bucky assumed he'd been up for longer than he looked. A quick glance at the clock told Bucky it was still early enough for a second breakfast.

"Let me take a quick shower and then I want to take you out to breakfast," he offered.

Clint's eyes lit up like they always did when Bucky did something thoughtful, no matter how big or small. "Sounds great."

Bucky moved away and started to walk toward the bedroom, only to be stopped by Clint's voice.

"Oh hey, before I forget again." Bucky turned back to face Clint and saw him looking uncertain. "So um…" Clint continued. "When we get back, do you, uh, want to grab the rest of your stuff from Steve's?"

"The rest of my stuff?" Bucky asked with a fluttery feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah. You know… finish moving in? Cuz that's where this seemed this was going. Wasn't it? I mean, if it's not, I—"

Bucky pulled Clint into his arms and gave him a long, meaningful kiss. "Yeah," he said a little gruffly, "that's where this was going. Didn't think you'd be ready for it quite yet. Ya think we're moving too fast?"

"Nah," Clint answered and then paused. "Maybe?" Clint shrugged. "Nat didn't tell me it was a bad idea when I mentioned it the other day, so probably not?" Clint's eyes flicked away for a second before meeting Bucky's, filled with new determination. "Life's short. Don't want to waste time."

Bucky gave him another kiss, softer and gentler than the ones earlier. Hydra had come too close to Clint's largest fear—losing control of his own mind once again—and those fears continued to linger despite everyone's reassurances. Bucky could sympathize. 

"Don't have much left to move," Bucky said after a few more kisses. "And now you need another shower too."

Clint smirked, but didn't resist when Bucky stepped backwards to lead them into the bedroom. They did eventually get cleaned up and head out for food, though it was closer to lunch than breakfast.

"So do you think we're more like John and Just Judy?" Clint mused as they were walking back to the Tower. "Or the Prime Minister and Natalie?"

"You still on that? I thought we agreed to just be us."

"I know and we are. Just… never mind."

"You watched it again last night with Natasha, didn't you?" Bucky teased. Both of the former SHIELD agents were oddly fixated with Rom Coms. Sam said it was probably because neither of them had ever had much opportunity for those types of interactions through the years. 

Clint nodded and Bucky gave the hand he was holding a quick squeeze before letting go in favor of wrapping an arm around Clint's shoulders as they approached the Tower. He let himself take Clint's initial question seriously and waited until they were inside the private Avengers elevator to answer. 

Bucky turned to face Clint fully and took his hand back in his. "If I had to choose, I'd like to be," Bucky started to say and then corrected himself. "I would like _us_ to be, something more like Jamie and Aurelia."

"Yeah?" Clint's smile was near-blinding with happiness. 

"Yeah," Bucky smiled back and forced himself to say the next part despite of how sappy it sounded. "Because I loved you before I consciously realized it and I'll always come find you."

He expected for Clint to call him on the sappiness or say something goofy or quote the movie. Instead, Clint leaned in and placed a soft kiss to Bucky's lips before pulling back so their eyes could meet. 

"I love you too, Bucky."

Bucky may not fully believe that love actually was all around, but he was willing to believe that this could be his own lasting love story.

~ _fin_ ~


End file.
